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FIRM TACKLES ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGE WITH 5% CLUB

A Kings Norton based engineering group is doubling the number of apprenticeships it offers as part of plans to create 500 new jobs by 2020.

adi Group has joined the 5% Club, which is designed to encourage UK businesses to employ the equivalent of five per cent of their workforce through apprenticeships.

With 10 apprentices already employed across the UK and Ireland, adi has already made headway in achieving its target after recruiting two new apprentices at the start of the year. Now, it is recruiting for a further six positions nationwide – four of which are in Birmingham – with a view to add two more in the second half of 2016.

Supported by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, the 5% Club is part of the government’s goal to create three million more apprenticeships by 2020.

Employing over 450 staff, the company hopes to achieve its five per cent target by the end of next year.

Alan Lusty, chief executive officer at adi Group, said: “We operate in a sector that has suffered from a serious skills shortage in recent years.

“But with plans to expand our business by creating 500 new jobs in the next five years, it is imperative that we inspire a sea change in how we plan and deliver training to the next generation of engineers.

“Apprenticeships are a vital way to tackle the skills shortage, but they are in need of a serious image overhaul. In our field, hands-on apprenticeships are the building blocks of a highly rewarding career that can take individuals all the way to the top, and yet young people and their parents remain largely unaware of the benefits such a route into work can bring.

“By increasing the number of apprenticeships we offer we hope to tackle that perception, and help the next generation to take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities on offer to them.”